Fish keeping myths

[chrisaggie]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9988962#post9988962 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Rogger Castells
...submerging will stop the aerobic part of the filtration...

As long as the water has dissolved oxygen in it (your filter and tank will) the submerged part of the bio balls will still be aerobic and work fine. As it has been said though bio balls are pretty useless in a reef tank. I personally think the "nitrate factory" is a bit of a myth, but we won't go there right now.

 

[lpsluver]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9988962#post9988962 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Rogger Castells
...you are better of with Liverock rubble as this will harvest other more beneficial bacteria deep inside their porous surface.

By the way...if I can ever figure out a way to convert/modify my friggin' expensive (and I mean expensive) custom Lifereef sump to a fuge I will be ditching the bioballs for liverock rubble/live sand and some chaeto.:dance:

 

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9992419#post9992419 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by lpsluver
By the way...if I can ever figure out a way to convert/modify my friggin' expensive (and I mean expensive) custom Lifereef sump to a fuge I will be ditching the bioballs for liverock rubble/live sand and some chaeto.:dance:

You don't need a fuge to ditch the bioballs---pull them out of their and replace with a micron filter bag and a few pieces of live rock--this is assuming that you have ample live rock in your tank that has been up and running for six months or more)
This is how I started: removed the bio balls and added the mircon bag
Removed the sump to the basement under the tank
Added a refugium to the sump--I used a 30gal plastic tote for a sump(fittings and plumbing to the tank upstairs cost seventy five dollars.)
Refugiums add some biological filtration to system--but not that much because the flow rate is drammatically reduced through them.

 

[lpsluver]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9998915#post9998915 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by capn_hylinur
You don't need a fuge to ditch the bioballs---pull them out of their and replace with a micron filter bag and a few pieces of live rock--this is assuming that you have ample live rock in your tank that has been up and running for six months or more)
This is how I started: removed the bio balls and added the mircon bag
Removed the sump to the basement under the tank
Added a refugium to the sump--I used a 30gal plastic tote for a sump(fittings and plumbing to the tank upstairs cost seventy five dollars.)
Refugiums add some biological filtration to system--but not that much because the flow rate is drammatically reduced through them.

You misunderstand me. Read the post above. I am only interested in removing the bioballs if I make the sump into a fuge. Unlike many, I do not subscribe to the "bioballs in a reef tank are nitrate factories" club. My tank is proof of that. I am not going to go through the hassle if it has no other benefit other than getting rid of the bioballs.

Fuges are also more than biological filtration (via bacteria) they are also a benefit in nitrate and phosphate control using macroalgae.
Flow rate in sumps is over-rated anyway. In a perfect world the flow rate should be matched to the flow rate of the protein skimmer. This is typically a lot lower than most of us push through our sumps. If you have a closed-loop or powerheads moving water in your display then the flow in the sump should be used for removing waste. Of course if you do not have the powerhead or closed-loop thing going on then sump flow rate is important and a sump/fuge becomes less of an option or is less effective. JMO